Myanmar in motion

Myanmar has indeed been a loyal comrade in the amazing journey the Irrigated Rice Research Consortium (IRRC) has trekked. It was in Myanmar where the first Steering Committee meeting of the Phase 3 of IRRC took place back in September 2005. The inaugural meeting was held to provide guidance and plan activities for the coming years of the IRRC. In her concluding remarks, Dr. Gelia Castillo, a Filipino national scientist and International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) consultant, said that “the IRRC is not just about rice; it is as much about people and communities.”

A national planning meeting was also held in the same week, where senior planners and staff members of the Myanma Agriculture Service (MAS), the Department of Agricultural Research (DAR), the Irrigation Technology Center, the Myanmar Rice and Paddy Traders’ Association (MRPTA), and Myanma Agricultural Produce Training gathered for the first time to discuss constraints to and challenges in rice production in Myanmar.

To quickly start addressing these rice-growing challenges in the country, the four IRRC work groups established common sites in the three major rice-growing divisions. Then, in January 2006, agricultural economists Arelene Malabayabas (IRRC) and Zenaida Huelgas (International Rice Research Institute) conducted a workshop on how to conduct a socioeconomic survey among MAS staff. In March and April, Ms. Malabayabas guided these staff in conducting a series of household surveys, which will provide baseline information for follow-up surveys in 2008.

In the meantime, IRRC activities continued to take place rapidly in the country. Training courses on integrated weed management were held in March and October 2006 in Yangon by weed scientist Joel Janiya of the IRRC Labor Productivity Work Group (LPWG). He discussed rice crop establishment methods and yield loss assessment, and introduced weed management and control methods. Mr. Janiya also trained 48 participants from MAS and the private sector on sampling and identifying weeds, preparing a herbarium, calibrating sprayers, and calculating herbicide dosage.

In 2006, MAS and the LPWG began working with farmers to explore options for crop establishment and determine losses caused by weeds in farmers’ fields in six townships. The average losses from weeds in these six areas ranged from 3% to 32% in the summer season. Farmers also tested line seeding with a drum seeder and this was favored by farmers in some areas.

The IRRC Postproduction Work Group didn’t waste precious time either. In April 2006, also in Yangon, the Work Group integrated e-learning for the first time, using computer-based courses packaged on CDs. Participants from MAS, MRPTA, and the Myanmar Rice Millers’ Association learned about postharvest theories through the e-learning course. The following day, Work Group leader and postharvest development specialist Martin Gummert gave lectures on drying systems, storage, milling, and grain and seed quality.

That same month, a training activity on laser land leveling in rice production was held in West Bago, a collaborative effort among the IRRC, MAS, and the MRPTA. The MRPTA, a private organization, has been very supportive of IRRC activities. From November 2005 to 2006, the MRPTA and the IRRC conducted a market survey to study price trends and factors determining them, fluctuations, and consumers’ preferences in choosing rice varieties. And, as a result of a dryer training in Vietnam in 2005, the MRPTA has installed more than 24 dryers for seven farmers’ groups and rice mills since February 2006.

Water-saving activities have also been making waves in the golden land of Buddhist temples. Demonstration sites of alternate wetting and drying (AWD) and aerobic rice have been established in Ayeyarwaddy, West Bago, Sagaing, and Mandalay. Water scientist and IRRC Water-Saving Work Group leader Ruben Lampayan happily reported that, after a year, areas with scarce water resources such as central and upper Myanmar showed high potential in adopting AWD and aerobic rice varieties. (See RIPPLE Vol. 2, No. 3.)

Myanma farmers have also been getting their hands dirty learning about nutrients and mat nurseries from soil scientist Marianne Samson of the IRRC Productivity and Sustainability Work Group (PSWG). She visited Myanmar three times in 2006 and once in 2007 to examine collaborative activities and train research and extension staff on using site-specific nutrient management (SSNM) and preparing a modified mat nursery (See RIPPLE Vol. 1, No. 3).

Guidelines were developed for a modified SSNM practice with optimal use of low fertilizer inputs tailored to local conditions. This SSNM practice was evaluated and disseminated in 2006-07 through on-farm trials in 14 townships across major rice-growing areas of the country. A booklet on SSNM for rice was translated and published in 2007. The PSWG continued to integrate SSNM with component technologies for improved crop establishment. Local partners are being trained on improved crop and nutrient management by the PSWG.

And it doesn’t stop there. All four IRRC work groups are now working together and planning to develop demonstration sites featuring a combination of technologies. These activities are being coordinated nationally by the IRRC Myanmar Outreach Program, led by U Hla Myo, general manager of the MAS Extension Division, and U Than Aye, deputy director general of the Agricultural Planning Department. At the state and division levels, these technologies will be carried out by the private sector (through the MRPTA) and new farmer associations.

Myanma leadership and the IRRC have already plotted out the 2008 gameplan. In a February 2007 workshop between IRRC and MAS, current structures in the research-extension interface were reviewed, and seven recommendations were developed for consideration of the director general of agricultural planning. The workshop aimed to develop a better understanding of pathways whereby mature technologies can be shared with farmers in 2008.
From the looks of things, the Myanmar-IRRC tandem is on the right track.

Trina Mendoza (t.mendoza@cgiar.org), David Johnson (d.johnson@cgiar.org),
and Roland Buresh (r.buresh@cgiar.org)

Country Outreach Programs archive